AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn president Steven Leath has refuted
a report from AL.com’s Kevin Scarbinsky that stated he and the university’s board of trustees “have laid the groundwork to end Jay Jacobs’ tenure as athletics director.”

Leath released a statement to reporters late Friday night concerning the report, which was published a few hours earlier.
In the report, Scarbinsky wrote Auburn’s leadership had a conference call this week to discuss Jacobs’ future.

“The report is inaccurate,” Leath said in the statement. “Jay Jacobs is the Athletics Director, and I have had no such conference
call with the Board of Trustees.”

The report from Scarbinsky stated Auburn was expected to transition from Jacobs as athletics director after football season,
but “recent scandals involving the school’s softball and men’s basketball programs have accelerated the process.”

Leath, who was hired at Auburn in March, did not comment on Jacobs’ job security earlier this week to
AL.com and
The Auburn Plainsman.

Leath told ESPN on Thursday the university has identified the two unnamed Auburn basketball players in the federal complaint against Person.
The university is waiting on the conclusion of
an internal review by a law firm that was recently hired to do the same for Auburn softball.

On Friday afternoon, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl
would not answer questions about the scandal involving Person, including ones about his job security and whether university leadership advised him to
avoid talking about the events of the week.

Jacobs has been Auburn’s athletics director since 2004. He has worked inside the university’s athletic department in various
roles since 1985.